


Firefighter

by Dassy1407



Category: One Direction, One Direction (Band)
Genre: AU, Firefighter, I love cliffhangers, M/M, warning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-18
Updated: 2014-01-23
Packaged: 2017-12-29 17:56:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1008340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dassy1407/pseuds/Dassy1407
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Liam is a firefighter who gets hurt on the job and Harry is his worrying boyfriend.</p><p>Harry can't stand Louis, but he insists to help Harry bring Liam back to pristine health.</p><p>*on hiatus*</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Anyone here for Liam Payne?

**Author's Note:**

> This is a "go with the flow" kind of story writing wise, so enjoy and let me know if you want more!

Harry’s leg couldn’t stop bouncing. He knew he was annoying the other people in the waiting room but frankly he didn’t care. If Niall didn’t have a steady hand on his shoulder, he would have told everyone else in the room to leave. He didn’t care if they had loved ones dying in the emergency room because they didn’t matter to him. At least not now. Maybe on a normal day he would have been a little more sympathetic.

But not today. No—right now all that mattered was his boyfriend, Liam, somewhere in the emergency wing injured and hurting. He knew Liam had a dangerous job, he was a firefighter, but Harry was nonetheless thrown into shock when he received the call from Liam’s co-firefighter and best friend, Zayn, that Liam had been injured while evacuating a burning office building. 

“He’s going to be okay,” Niall assured him.

Harry looked up and glared slightly. He said nothing because he didn’t want to say anything to his best friend that he’d regret. Zayn had yet to show up to the hospital, probably because the fire down town was still raging, and no doctors had come out to tell him exactly what was wrong with his boyfriend. With fire, Harry first thought of burns, but there were so many other possibilities worse and less than that. Did the roof collapse on top of him? Did he have broken bones? Did he hit his head?

Harry’s worried wonderings were distracted when he heard a loud sniffle come from a guy sitting across from him. This guy—or more like boy—stood out to him against the other worried family members and friends in the room who were all waiting for the same thing—news. Harry guessed the guy was at least 20, but he was dressed in tight jeans that were rolled up to show his ankles, toms, and a loose fitting t-shirt. Artist or druggie was his first thought. The strong fringe and stubble suggested his age, but his un-put together appearance showed him to be youthful. Aside from that fact, the young man was also unsuccessfully trying to sob quietly. Tears rolled continuously down his cheeks and his bright blue eyes glistened in the harsh lighting. 

Harry wondered if he looked similar, tears on his cheeks, most resting against his own green eyes. His hands shook on the knees of his own tight jeans, just like the other boy’s and Harry felt a weird connection with him. Harry wondered whom this boy was waiting to hear news about. It had to be someone close to the boy—a family member or lover. Maybe that person had been caught in the fire—someone Liam had managed to rescue before being injured.

The boy sniffled again and looked up, catching Harry looking at him. Harry shook his head and looked down at his own brown boots, embarrassed. He was too afraid to look up again. It wasn’t his business anyways. The boy obviously had his own problems and Harry didn’t need to meddle with him when he had Liam to worry about.

“I’m going to go try Zayn’s cell again,” Niall said softly into his ear and patted his back before leaving Harry alone in the waiting room.

Harry kept his eyes on his shoes, once again thinking of all the possibilities that Liam was going through. He realized that not knowing was the worst feeling in the world.

Someone cleared their throat and Harry slowly raised his gaze to the boy across the room from him. There was technically only about 10 feet separating the two who were hunched over with their elbows on their knees, tears dripping off their cheeks and onto the floor. 

The boy was looking at Harry and he had a hesitant smile on, one that looked extremely out of place on the tear-filled and broken expression. “Hey,” the boy spoke and his raspy voice gave Harry unpleasant chills. He could practically hear the broken heart of the guy and Harry wondered if his own voice would sound the same.

“Hey,” Harry said softly, gulping afterwards.

“You okay?”

Harry choked on a laugh that was mostly a sob. 

“Sorry,” the boy spoke quickly. “Dumb question,” he replied with his own broken laugh.

“N-no,” Harry sniffled and wiped his face. “You, uh, hear anything? A-about whomever you’re here for…?” He wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to ask but how else can you make small talk in a hospital waiting room at 10 o’clock at night?

The boy shook his head and fresh tears rolled down his cheeks. “Nah. Not yet.”

Harry slowly nodded. “Me neither.”

They fell into silence for a few moments, listening to the others around them sniffle and sigh. 

“I’m Louis,” the boy spoke again, obviously getting uncomfortable with the tensed silence.

“Harry,” he said with a small sigh because he didn’t feel like talking anymore. He just wanted to go to Liam and hold him and make all his pain go away.

Louis nodded, seeming to take the name into consideration. “My, uh, boyfriend—well, uh fiancée I guess, is here,” he said and his shoulders shook with another sob.

Harry bit down on his lip at the word boyfriend because he was about to explode if someone didn’t come and give him news about Liam soon. “I’m sorry,” was all Harry could say to Louis. He couldn’t give sympathy right now. Yes, he was in the exact same boat but that didn’t mean Harry knew what to say to help this guy. They were strangers.

Louis must have caught on that Harry didn’t want to talk and the two fell back into silence.

Niall soon returned, his cheeks flushed red from the winter wind, phone clutched in his hand. “Zayn’s on his way,” he explained to Harry.

Harry sat up a little straighter. “Did he say what happened exactly?”

Niall plopped down next to Harry and frowned. “Said there was an explosion. Apparently got him pretty good but he doesn’t know the extent—“

Harry didn’t have a chance to respond before Louis was cutting in, “Explosion? Was your friend caught in the fire too?” 

Harry glanced over and nodded slowly. “Yeah… my boyfriend,” he answered.

Louis’s face softened and he opened his mouth to say something more when a doctor entered the room.

All bodies in the waiting room stilled, all wishing the name of their loved one would fall out of the doctor’s mouth.

“Anyone here for Liam Payne?”

Harry shot out of his seat, almost knocking into Louis who surprisingly shot up as well, leaving Harry slightly dazed. He blinked and gaped at Louis who pushed passed him to get to the doctor.

“How is he?” Louis demanded.

“What the hell?” Niall muttered behind him and Harry felt numb as he approached Louis and the doctor.

“And you are?” the doctor asked politely.

“I’m Louis, and Liam Payne is my fiancée.”


	2. Happily Ever Never?

Flashback

Harry was nervous, to say the least, as he waiting patiently outside Liam’s door, a heavy box resting in his hands. He adjusted it and knocke, only waiting moments before the door swung open, revealing a brightly grinning Liam.

“Harry! Why did you knock?” Liam asked with a small laugh while taking the large box out of Harry’s hands. “You live here now, remember.”

Harry blushed and stepped into the small but tidy apartment. “It doesn’t feel like it yet,” he shrugged. 

Liam led Harry down the hall and set the box on the coffee table. “You practically lived here before anyways,” he said, turning to face Harry. “You still sure you want to move in?”

Harry’s face fell from the worry that graced Liam’s features. “Of course I do!” he said in a rush, going to Liam and gripping the other boy’s waist. “Like you said, I basically lived here before… now I just don’t have to go home to get fresh underwear.”

Liam looked relieved and he wrapped his strong arms around Harry and hugged him. “No, now they’ll be sat in my drying for a week before you forget about doing laundry,” Liam teased.

“Heyyy,” Harry pouted, squeezing Liam’s hips slightly. 

“I’ll keep you in check,” Liam winked.

Harry grinned and kissed Liam’s lips.

Liam hummed into the kiss before pulling back and smiling. “By the way, happy six month anniversary!”

“It feels so much longer than that,” Harry admitted.

“That’s a good thing, right? Means our forever will feel longer,” Liam said, tugging Harry towards the couch.

Harry went with him willingly, falling on top of Liam when he fell back onto the couch. “I have more boxes in the car…” he said before Liam repeatedly kissed his lips.

“They can wait…” Liam purred into his mouth, his hand reaching around and moving Harry’s legs so he was straddling him.

Harry barely hummed a response before melting against Liam’s touch, excited for forever. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You’re his what?!” Niall snapped, knocking Harry out of his daze.

Louis turned away from the doctor and looked panicked for a moment. “Umm…”

Zayn took that moment to rush into the waiting room. He was out of his suit but still wearing the stations uniform. His cheeks were wisped with black soot. He immediately started towards Harry and Niall, his expression falling worrying, probably from Harry’s stricken look. But then his eyes fell onto Louis and his fear turned into confusion. “Louis? What are you doing here?”

Louis rubbed his hands together, looking nervous and almost paling at the sight of Zayn. “I-I got a call about Li—“

“Who called you?”

“Better question! Who are you?” Niall cut in sternly.

Harry had yet to speak, too dumbfounded and just confused. What was going on? 

“The hospital called me,” Louis responded, ignoring Niall. “I must be Liam’s emergency contact still,” he explained, biting at his raw lips.

“So you’re not his fiancée?” Niall glared at Louis.

“No, of course not,” Zayn said, also glaring towards the shorter nervous boy, who looked like a dear in headlights.

“But he was at one point?” Niall blanched and Harry wasn’t sure if it was Niall or himself shaking. Harry knew Liam had passed relationships, as did Harry, but they never really discussed how serious those relationships were.

“Zayn…” Louis almost whimpered at the dark haired boy and Harry saw Zayn’s expression soften.

“Just, uh, we’ll talk about it later,” Zayn said with a dismissive wave of his hand. Then he moved past Louis and went to Harry’s side, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. 

The doctor glanced between the lads before speaking. “Right, well, Mr. Payne suffered from second and third degree burns on his face, chest, and arms,” he explained. “We’ve dressed the burns and he’s on an IV and we’re keeping him heavily sedated for the time being.”

Harry paled. “Wh-why?”

The doctor explained, “Any type of burn is painful, and even though he is unable to feel the third degree burns do to the damaging of the nerves, the second degree burns are severe and it’s best to keep him on heavy pain medication at least until we can do a skin graft—“

“He’ll need that? Where?” Zayn asked.

“What’s a skin graft?” Niall questioned.

“There are two locations on Mr. Payne that are so severe that the area will be unable to heal on its own, one section near his collar bone and shoulder, the other on his forearm. For this reason we will be taking healthy skin from other areas of his body to cover the burned areas. It’s a simple procedure but we need to wait a few days before proceeding. For now Mr. Payne will be in a lot of pain without an IV drip of morphine.”

“But he will be okay, right? After the burns heal?” Harry asked, finding his voice. 

The doctor nodded and gave a reassuring smile. “Yes, he will have a full recovery. There will be some scarring, of course, but he will be fine in a couple of months.”

Harry closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. Then he heard a sigh of, “Oh thank god,” come from the other boy that’s been silent since the doctor began.

“When can we see him?” Zayn asked.

“He’s being moved into a room as we speak. I do request that only one person see’s him at a time for now, incase he does regain consciousness, which is very possible though he most likely won’t be able to stay away longer than a few seconds. I have here in my charts of his fiancée, Louis Tomlinson—“

“That’s me,” Louis said with a nervous glance towards Harry.

“No, he’s not,” Zayn stated sternly to the doctor. “They’re not together anymore, we need to get that contact changed,” he stated and Louis frowned, shrinking up on himself.

The doctor glanced between them. “We can do that for you but we’ll need Mr. Payne’s permission. For now I’ll leave it up to you to decide who can go see him. He’s one floor up, room 217. Excuse me,” the doctor said before turning and walking away.

As soon as he was gone, Zayn turned on Louis. “Why the hell would you think it’d be a good idea for you to show up here?” he asked.

Louis chewed on his lip and shrugged. “I wasn’t sure if anyone else would—“

Zayn scoffed. “Sure. Because out of anyone in the world, Liam would want you to be at his side,” he said sarcastically.

“I’m sorry Zayn,“ Louis said with a pathetic look. “You know I still care about him. Love him even.”

Harry stiffened.

Niall cleared his throat. “Whoa, look, Lou, I don’t know what’s going on with you and what ex boyfriend issues you have, but Liam has moved on. Harry is his boyfriend now and he needs to go see Liam.”

Louis’s eyes fell onto Harry. “I figured that out,” he said softly. “But this doesn’t mean I’m leaving,” he added, crossing his arms.

“Fine, have fun sitting alone in the waiting room,” Niall snarled and grabbed Harry’s arm, pulling him out into the hallway.

Harry glanced back and saw Zayn staying back to talk to Louis some more. Zayn’s expression was no longer angry and that made Harry nervous.

When they reached the elevator he completely forgot about Louis. Liam, his strong and beautiful boyfriend, was seriously hurt. The closer they got to Liam’s room, the more Harry felt the tears returning.

“I’ll be just out here, okay?” Niall squeezed Harry’s hand reassuringly.

Harry didn’t want to let him go, in fear of collapsing when he finally got to see Liam, but the doctor said only one at a time for now. They stopped outside of room 217 and Harry finally let go of Niall’s hand, which he didn’t even realize he had been holding. Harry refused to look through the tiny window in the door and instead just kept his eyes on the ground as he pushed open the door and walked inside.

Liam’s body was covered from the waist down with a blanket, but the rest of him was buried in white medicated bandages. “Oh Li,” Harry gasped, his body trembling. He barely made it to the chair beside the bed before he collapsed. Harry’s teeth chattered despite the room being uncomfortably warm. Liam’s entire chest was covered in bandages as well as his left arm, the left side of his face and down his neck slightly. Luckily both eyes seemed to be unhurt but Harry couldn’t help but glance at Liam’s neck and wonder if his birthmark had been damaged. 

Gently, Harry leaned over Liam and kissed the unburned skin of his right cheek. “I love you,” he whispered. His mind was too focused on Liam that he didn’t see the broken expression of Louis staring in at them from the hall.


	3. His Dream

His phone vibrating in his back pocket awaked Harry from his slumber in the uncomfortable chair beside Liam’s bed. He cleared his throat slightly as he sat up, blinking rapidly to get his vision back in focus. For a moment he forgot where he was, but then his eyes fell onto Liam who was still in a heavily drug-induced sleep, bandages still washing out his complexion. Harry quickly grabbed his phone and answered it as he stood up to stretch his legs.

“Hello?”

“Harry,” a woman’s voice replied and Harry immediately felt guilt wash over him.

“Karen,” Harry replied into the phone, internally groaning when he realized he never called Liam’s family to tell them of Liam’s accident.

“I woke up to the message on the machine. How’s my boy?” Karen asked, not sounding as nervous as Harry would have guessed. He figured that she had tried calling Liam, but his phone was probably still at the station in his locker. 

“He’s okay, Karen. I’m sorry I didn’t call you last night. It was just all hectic last night and I was worried and it just slipped my mind,” he apologized. 

“It’s okay, dear, I understand. I appreciate that you were so concentrated on my son,” Karen replied honestly.

Harry nodded and quietly walked from the hospital room, even though he could probably scream and Liam wouldn’t have woken up. He began to casually trek down the halls with no real destination in mind.

“Did the hospital call you? Or Zayn?” Harry asked, curious who did inform Karen of Liam’s accident.

Karen was quiet for a moment before she said; “Actually, it was Louis Tomlinson who left the message late last night. He uh..” she hesitated.

Harry instantly replied, “Oh. It’s, um, okay, he showed up here last night. I know who he is,” he supplied.

Karen made a noise of consideration before replying, “Don’t let Louis scare you, honey. He just cares for Liam a lot, ya know?”

“Yeah, I understand,” Harry replied, though he didn’t really want to discuss it any further. Harry really loved Liam’s family but he guessed Louis once had to have been pretty close with them too if he knew enough that Liam’s family wouldn’t have been contacted by the hospital. Harry felt a wave of guilt because he should have been the one to leave the message, not Louis.

“Lou also said that Liam will be in the hospital for quite a while and the only time Geoff can get off is at the end of this week, so I’m planning the trip over for then. Is that okay? I know it’s a lot to handle but I trust you to take care of my boy until we can get there,” Karen explained.

Harry tried not the grunt at the use of a nickname for Louis, and instead responded, “Take your time, I know it’s a busy time for Geoff at the office. Liam’s not in any danger right now and I won’t be leaving his side until he’s up and fighting fires again,” he said with a small chuckle, but it sounded weak.

“Okay dear. You’ll have Li give us a call once he’s able to, right?”

“Of course,” Harry assured, stopping near a row of vending machines. 

“Okay, well I have some family members to call, let them know that Liam’s okay. Bye dear,” she said with a small sigh.

“Bye Karen, I’ll call you when I hear anything new,” Harry promised before ending the call.

He rubbed his face tiredly before using the spare change he had in his pocket to buy a bad cup of coffee from the machines. He was trying to ignore the thoughts, but he couldn’t stop thinking about how Louis took the liberty to call Liam’s parents. It didn’t just annoy him, but it made him feel terrible about himself.

As he walked back to Liam’s room, he was just thankful that Louis didn’t stick around last night.

Though, when he reached the door, he discovered that his intuitions were wrong because through the tiny window Harry would see Louis sitting on the edge of Liam’s bed still in the clothes he was wearing last night, an obvious indication that he hadn’t gone home last night either.

Harry knew he had every right to barge in there and demand that Louis leave but something in the way that Louis was hovering over Liam’s body, looking down at his lax face with such emotion made Harry stop where he was.

He stared in through the window as Louis gently reached out and caressed Liam’s uninjured cheek and Louis smiled despite the tears pooling in his eyes. Louis was saying something to Harry but the only thing he was able to read from his lips was “I love you.”

Again, Harry should have barged in and stopped this but he couldn’t force himself to move. Instead, he watched numbly as Louis slowly bent down and pressed his silky lips to Liam’s cracked ones. A tear fell from Louis’s cheek onto Liam’s and Harry suddenly took a step away from the door, feeling like he was invading a private moment.

Which really didn’t make sense because Liam was Harry’s boyfriend, not Louis’s, but he could tell how much Louis really loved Liam and that scared Harry. He was unable to stand outside himself and see how much love he shows towards Liam, even though deep down inside Harry knew he’s never loved someone as much as he did that boy.

“What are you doin’?” Zayn’s voice coming from a few feet away snapped Harry out of his daze and he nearly dropped his steaming cup of bitter coffee.

“Crap, um, sorry,” Harry stumbled over his words, his cheeks burning bright red.

Zayn frowned at him but merely stepped around Harry to head into Liam’s room. He let out a groan as he pushed open the door. “I thought I told you to leave,” he said sternly as he entered, directing his words to Louis, who was now sitting in the seat that Harry had occupied earlier.

“I’m sorry, Zayn, I know, I just can’t,” Louis explained. As Harry stepped into the room, standing near the door in hopes to not get involved, he noticed that while Louis’s cheeks were clear, he still had red and moist eyes.

“What do you mean you can’t? You get in your car and you go home,” Zayn said, standing at the end of Liam’s bed, his hand wrapped tightly around the frame as if he was holding himself back from jumping at Louis.

Louis shook his head, “I promised Karen that I’d let her know of his progress,” he insisted.

Zayn turned and looked at Harry with an exasperated look and Harry took this as a sign to step in. “Um, actually she called me this morning… and, uh, I told her I’d keep her informed,” he spoke softly, his voice still gravely.

Harry glanced towards Louis who looked genuinely surprised before the boy’s expression fell into something that read as disappointed.

“See? Liam’s real boyfriend has things covered. You’re not needed here-“ Zayn began but for some reason Harry didn’t like the hurt expression on Louis’s face.

“Zayn, stop, it’s okay,” Harry cut him off and took a deep breath before looking at Louis. He took a step towards the bed, trying to ignore where Louis’s hand clutched Liam’s. “I don’t have a problem with you being here because I can tell you really care about Liam. But since I don’t know the full story with what happened between you and Liam, I can’t make the decision if you being here would upset him or not.”

Zayn scoffed, “I’m telling you that Liam wouldn’t be okay with it.”

“You don’t know the whole story,” Louis grumbled.

“Oh yeah?” Zayn glared and crossed his arms. “How do you know? He’s my best friend.”

“Because he specifically told me that he wouldn’t tell anyone,” Louis glared back. “And the Liam I know keeps his promises.” Louis’s jaw clenched and Harry chewed nervously on his lips.

Zayn sent Louis one more glare before looking at Harry, his expression softening. “You sure you’re okay with him here?”

Harry nodded but he was sure Zayn could read the doubt in his expression. Despite so, Zayn just grumbled something under his breath about calling the station before bustling out of the room.

Once Zayn walked out, Louis stood up and let go of Liam’s hand. “Despite what you may think of me, I do respect you. You can sit here with him,” he said, going to the other side of the room to grab an even more uncomfortable chair to set on Liam’s other side.

Harry gulped and took his rightful place by Liam’s side; the side that was still visible and unscarred. Harry said nothing as he took Liam’s hand into his, keeping his eyes trained on his resting boyfriend.

They were quiet for a long while, both men sitting on either side of the hospital bed, their eyes barely leaving the burned young man, only occasionally glancing up at each other when the other wasn’t looking.

Eventually Zayn returned and leant against the wall near Harry. “They’re planning the skin graph for tomorrow evening so they’re going to lighten the sedation now to see how he is,” he explained.

“Why?” Louis asked before Harry could respond. “If he wakes up, won’t he be in pain?”

Harry didn’t have to see Zayn to know that he was glaring again. “He’ll still be drugged up but they need to make sure he’s responding well before taking him into surgery,” Zayn explained.

Louis just nodded slowly and looked back at Liam.

Zayn’s phone started to vibrate and he excused himself before walking out of the room again.

The two were silent once more before Louis broke it by saying, “So how long have you and Li been together?”

Harry glanced up at Louis for a moment and he could see the genuine look on his face. Not wanting to come off as the jealous boyfriend that wasn’t gong to respond out of stubbornness, he simply responded, “We met over a year ago.”

Louis’s expression fell for a moment but then went back to neutral before asking, “Oh yeah? Where’d you guys meet?”

Harry was unsure why he wanted to tell Louis this story, maybe because it was something he and Liam talked about a lot, about how it was a lucky break that they even met. Harry cleared his throat before responding, “I was working in a library and I had knocked over a big cart of books I needed to reshelf and Liam saw and helped me pick them up,” he explained with a small smile.

Louis, surprisingly, smiled as well. “Were you staring at Liam and were distracted by his beauty and that’s why you knocked over the cart?”

Harry shook his head, “No, I was just a klutz.”

“Oh,” was Louis’s only response but he was still looking at Harry, waiting for him to explain more.

“Well, um, after that Liam kept returning to the library for a project and he’d ask me for help looking for certain books, even though I was a terrible librarian and I couldn’t find anything in that damn place,” Harry felt himself genuinely smiling at the memory.

Louis sighed softly before raising an eyebrow. “Wait, why was Liam at the library? What project?” he asked.

Harry’s smile faltered slightly before saying, “For one of his university classes—“

“Liam doesn’t go to Uni,” Louis said with certainty. 

Harry bit down on his lip before replying, “Yeah he does. He’ll be a junior come next fall.”

Louis sat back in his chair, looking baffled and upset. “Why is he in Uni? He’s a fireman.”

Harry glanced at Liam and then back at Louis. “He’s quitting the field once he graduates and finds a new job.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Louis said with a raised voice. “He’s always wanted to be a fireman. It’s his dream. Even I couldn’t convince him to quit even though I had a panic attack every time I heard the scanner go off.”

Harry shifted in his seat uncomfortably. 

Louis continued, “Did you convince him to quit?”

Harry let out a small noise of surprise. “What? No, of course not. He was already enrolled in school when I met him. He made the decision himself,” he explained.

Louis furrowed his brow and reached out to Liam, but due to being on his left side, there was no non-bandaged area to hold on to. Instead he curled his hands up into his own lap. “Sorry,” he muttered under his breath to Harry. “I just, always told him that even though I admired his need to save lives, I never liked him risking his own in the process. I laid awake at night for hours with images of him getting hurt on the job and it drove me crazy. But nothing I did or said could ever convince him. He just repeatedly said, “This is what I’m meant to do.””

Harry relaxed slightly. “He told me he used to say that.”

Louis blinked and looked over at Harry again. “What changed? Do you know?”

Harry nodded and barely registered that Zayn reentered the room. “He said he had lost people in fires before but about 6 months before we met he said he had a bad experience with not being able to save a child. He didn’t explain it in much detail but apparently Liam would have been able to save him if he had just moved faster.”

Zayn sighed once he realized what was being discussed. “The kid was burnt too badly, he wouldn’t have survived anyways.”

Harry gulped. “Either way, Liam blamed himself and since then he’s been at Uni trying to find a different career path. But he still works at the station part time, full time in summer because of the income.”

Louis nodded in understanding. “I’m so sorry Li,” he said to the unconscious boy, though Harry didn’t know why he was apologizing.

Zayn rolled his eyes and reached out to squeeze Harry’s shoulder. “I got to get back to work. I’ll stop by tomorrow with Liam’s things from his locker. Niall said he’d drop by after lunch with some clothes and food for you, okay?”

Harry nodded, blinking up at Zayn before the dark haired boy knelt down. “And I don’t want you telling Liam this right away, but eventually he’s going to ask and best if it comes from you. When the explosion happened last night, Liam was going in to rescue a woman trapped inside. She didn’t make it.”

Harry felt a blob in his throat and tears form in his eyes. “That’s going to kill him, Zayn,” he nearly sobbed.

Zayn nodded and squeezed Harry’s arm gently. “I know, so don’t tell him right away. Wait until he heals.”

“What if he asks? You know him, if he remembers, he’s going to ask,” Harry persisted.

“Then lie. His mood is important for his recovery and he won’t take loosing someone else lightly at all. We both know him, so just do what’s best for him,” Zayn explained and Harry nodded. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said but before he left he whispered in Harry’s ear, “Liam never told me exactly what happened between him and Louis, but remember that you’re his boyfriend and that Liam loves you a lot. Don’t let Louis intimidate you.” Then Zayn gave Harry’s arm a final squeeze before walking back out.

~

It was about an hour of silence when Liam’s eyes began to move under his lids. Louis noticed first, of course, and was immediately hovering over him saying, “Liam? Liam, hey babe, open your eyes for me.”

Harry knew he should have just pushed Louis away then because Zayn’s words were in the back of his mind. Liam was his boyfriend, not Louis’s. But yet, Louis was intimidating, despite being a lot smaller than him, and all Harry could do was squeeze Liam’s hand and get as close as he could without bumping into Louis. 

“Liam,” Harry said with a soft pleading voice, but once again Louis’s overpowered him.

“Liam? Come back to me, open your eyes,” Louis repeated and slowly Liam’s eyes fluttered open.

Harry let out a small sigh of relief with a smile, but it faltered when Liam’s eyes focused straight onto Louis, who was smiling brightly, tears returning to his eyes.

“Hey Li,” Louis said, his voice softer this time.

Harry squeezed Liam’s hand again, wanting to get his attention, but then Liam was smiling at Louis and Harry’s squeeze loosened its grip. 

Even though Harry knew Liam was high off of pain medications and probably wouldn’t remember ever waking up, he was still taken back when Liam smiled and said in a child-like voice, “Louuuuieee.”

Louis laughed softly and nodded. “Yeah baby, it’s me.”

Harry quickly cleared his throat and squeezed Liam’s hand again before he said, “Liam? It’s Harry, I’m here too.” Harry about rolled his eyes at how desperate and pathetic that sounded but he didn’t care. He didn’t like the mirrored fondness on Liam’s face towards Louis.

Liam blinked and his eyes flickered over to Harry. He smiled softly again before his eyes fluttered back to Louis and then his eyes started to close. Softly before he fell unconscious again, Liam whispered, “I love you.”

Harry’s heart stuttered for a moment, not because he immediately assumed Liam was speaking to Louis because he had seen Harry too so there was no confirming whom he was speaking to, but because the widest grin Harry has ever seen spread across Louis’s face and it almost made Harry flinch back. As Harry gulped, staring at Louis, the other man simply blinked through salty tears and whispered, “I love you too.”

Harry’s heart never felt such pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave comments to let me know what you think! Are you team Lirry or Lilo?


	4. Family

“He did what!?” Niall roared and Harry quickly clamped his hand over the Irishman’s mouth. Harry should have known Niall liked to react rashly.

“Shut up, Niall or he’ll hear you!” Harry hissed. They were near the elevators on Liam’s floor and Louis was still in the room with Liam.

When Harry received the text from Niall that he was on his way up with Harry’s things, Harry left the hospital room to meet him at the elevators. He explained to his best friend what Louis did—including the kiss and his reaction to Liam saying “I love you.”

Niall yanked Harry’s hand from his mouth and poked his finger into Harry’s chest. “Why haven’t you punched that guy in the face yet?”

Harry stepped back and his shoulders slumped. “You didn’t see his face, Ni. He really cares about Liam. How can I hurt that?” he questioned.

“Liam is your boyfriend for God’s sake!” Niall yelled again but Harry didn’t bother to try and quiet him this time. “Liam is no longer with that twat for a reason and you’re just going to let him waltz in and coddle over Liam like that?!”

Harry sighed, feeling a pressure behind his eyes. “I don’t know what to do,” he pouted, though instead of accompanying it with over played puppy eyes, Harry just looked genuinely confused and heartbroken on what to do. 

“You slap the guy upside the head and tell him to get the fuck out,” Niall declared.

“He’s not going to listen to me,” Harry shook his head. “Plus, maybe Liam would want him here,” he shrugged slightly.

“Or maybe that cunt broke Liam’s heart and when he wakes up and sees him he’s going to flip shit! Hell, Harry, that Louis guy could have been real bad to Liam for all we know!”

Harry quickly shook his head when he realized what Niall was suggesting. “I know that’s not true. Liam wouldn’t have kept that from anyone and plus the guy doesn’t look like he’d ever hurt Liam,” he answered.

“Whatever the reason, Liam is in love with you now and Louis shouldn’t be in the picture at all,” Niall reasoned. “If you broke up with Liam under any circumstances, would you risk going up against a new guy in hopes to get him back?”

Harry frowned. “First, I would never break up with Liam. Secondly, if I saw him happy with someone else, no, I would leave him be.”

“Exactly!” Niall said with a bright grin, finally getting the idea through Harry’s thick skull.

“Okay, I get it. But I already told him he could stay. How do I get him to leave?” Harry simply looked pathetic as he tugged helplessly on Niall’s arm.

“Come on, I’ll help,” Niall declared and dragged Harry back to the room. 

Harry managed to wiggle his hand free from Niall’s grip before they reached the room. “No, you’re right, I have to do this on my own. Liam’s my boyfriend and I should have stood up for him from the start,” Harry confirmed.

Niall grinned. “That’s my boy!” and nearly pushed Harry through the door and into Liam’s hospital room.

Louis glanced over when Harry stumbled in but merely went back to pressing kisses against Liam’s hand.

Harry gulped slightly before raising his head and walking towards Louis. “Stop touching my boyfriend,” he declared.

Louis didn’t release Liam’s hand but looked back to Harry with a frown. “Why?”

Harry’s confidence faltered, but only for a moment because that wasn’t the reaction he was expecting. “Because he’s my boyfriend now and you have no right to touch him anymore. You shouldn’t even be here.”

Louis frowned but set down Liam’s hand. “You said it was okay—“ he began.

“Well I was wrong. Zayn was right, you shouldn’t be here.”

Louis turned in his seat but didn’t get up. “Harry, I just want to be here for support—“

“Support that you have no right to give to him anymore,” Harry snapped and Louis flinched.

“You don’t know why Liam and I broke up—“ Louis started again but Harry was tired of this excuse.

“It doesn’t matter!” Harry rarely yells but he felt better once he did. “If you ended it with him and you’re just trying to win him back for some reason than that’s just shit of you to do. And if he ended it with you then he obviously made the right decision. What is so wrong with you that you felt you had the right to come in here and act like that towards him around me?”

Louis trembled in his seat before he stood up and grabbed his coat with a shaky hand. “Harry, I am so sorry. I, just, when I got the call about the accident I just knew I wouldn’t have been able to not be here for him. I was afraid he’d be all alone and when I saw him I just couldn’t make myself leave. I really love him and it doesn’t matter who ended it with who because I just need to make sure he’s going to be okay.” Louis was full on crying now and inside, Harry felt like shit, but his fists were still trembling in frustration.

“I don’t give a damn about any of that,” Harry growled—and it wasn’t true. Harry cared a lot about what Louis was saying but he could hear Niall in his head screaming at him to just get Louis away. Wouldn’t Harry feel so much better then?

Louis ‘s face squished as he let out a small sob. “Liam and I didn’t just date for a few months and end on a bad note. We were going to live out the rest of our lives together!” he nearly yelled, but his voice was raspy and breaking.

“He’s with me now, Louis. So get the fuck out of here before I call security,” Harry stated fiercely, his jaw clenching tightly.

Louis visibly shook as he took one final look at Liam before he literally ran from the room.

Harry barely made the two steps to the chair before he once again collapsed into it. He could hear Louis crying in the hall, but the sound of it fading made him realize that Louis was heading towards the elevators.

The door opened again and Niall entered. “Damn, Haz, what’d you do, rip his nuts off?”

Harry turned sharply and glared, his eyes red. “Shut up. I did what you told me to do.”

“I told you to kick him out, not make him cry like a baby,” Niall explained, though he didn’t seem as bothered by Louis’s reaction.

Harry let out a frustrated breath and turned back to Liam. “The guy’s a psycho that needs to get over his failed relationship. Liam’s mine.”

Niall frowned slightly. “Never took you as the possessive type,” he said softly.

Harry let out a small gasp and looked down to where he was holding Liam’s limp hand so tight that Liam’s fingertips were bright red. “Shit,” he gasped and let go quickly. “I’m not possessive. That’s not… that’s not how our relationship is.”

“I know,” Niall admitted quietly. “I’m sorry I made you do that. Why don’t I sit with Liam and you go get some air?” he suggested.

Harry debated for a few moments before deciding that Niall was right. He needed time to think and clear his head. “I’ll be back shortly,” he promised, standing up.

“Take your time,” Niall said and took Harry’s place beside the bed.

~

When Harry made it outside, he was expecting to hear cars from the street and possibly sirens from the ER wing, but the last thing he was expecting to hear was Louis’s sobs coming from around the corner.

It was distinctly the same cries he heard upstairs and Harry felt himself shudder. He only ever made one other person cry like that before and he didn’t want to relive that memory.

“I’m such a terrible person,” Louis cried and Harry could tell that Louis was talking to himself.

Harry knew he shouldn’t eavesdrop but he felt himself moving closer to hear.

“I’m so sorry Li,” Louis cried and Harry peeked around the corner to see Louis sitting against the brick wall, his face buried in his hands. “It’s a-all my fault and I’m so sorry. I mess everything up,” he sobbed. “I want you to forgive me, Li.”

Harry bit down on his lip, not sure how he felt about the fact that Louis was admitting that he was the one that needed forgiveness from Liam, not the other way around. On one hand that made Harry feel okay about kicking Louis out, but on the other hand Harry didn’t know their situation and therefore still couldn’t confirm if Liam would want Louis there or not. 

Either way, Harry couldn’t just continue to stand there and watch Louis tear himself apart. Harry took a step closer and cleared his throat.

Louis didn’t even look up. “Leave me alone,” he cried helplessly.

Harry gulped and moved closer before kneeling down beside the trembling boy. “Louis, I’m sorry,” he began.

Louis’s head snapped up and his face was bright red and tear-streaked. “What are you doing?” he asked, his voice shaking just as bad as his body.

Harry reached out as if to comfort Louis, but decided it’d be best not to touch him. He tucked his hands into the pockets of his jacket. “I wanted to apologize,” he said calmly.

Louis bit his lip harshly as if he wanted to yell at Harry, but instead he shook his head and said, “No, you had every right to kick me out. Liam isn’t mine anymore. He’s your boyfriend and I have to accept that.”

Louis making that statement genuinely surprised Harry but he tried not to let it show. “Thank you,” Harry responded. 

The two fell into an uncomfortable silence before Louis spoke up, “I should probably go,” he said and the two rose to their feet again.

Louis took one more glance at Harry before he turned to walk away and Harry felt something in him that made him say, “Wait.” Niall is gonna kill you, rang in the back of his mind. “You can come see him again,” he offered. Louis’s eyes brightened but Harry quickly added, “Not right now. When he’s able to stay awake longer and know what’s going on.”

Louis’s face fell and Harry had to ask, “Is Liam going to tell me what he doesn’t want to see you?”

Louis shrugged. 

“You have to be honest with me. If Liam were completely fine, would he have a problem with you being there?”

Louis shrugged again but this time added, “I don’t really know. We didn’t end on the greatest terms but I think he still respects me enough to see me.”

Harry didn’t really like that response, mainly because he wasn’t sure what “didn’t end on the greatest terms” meant. “Next time he wakes up I will try and talk to him about it. Until then you should go,” he agreed in the end.

Louis nodded and wiped the tears marks off his face. “Thank you, Harry,” he said softly. 

Harry nodded slightly and watched as Louis trudged away to the parking lot.

Harry leant against the brick wall for a few minutes before returning to Liam’s side. 

“Feel better?” Niall asked, giving Harry back his seat and sitting in the one on Liam’s other side.

Harry shrugged and gently took a hold of Liam’s hand. “I’ll feel better when Liam’s better.”

~~

Flashback

“Li? Are you still awake?”

Liam’s eyes remained closed but he smiled and he felt his boyfriend press closer to his side. 

“I’m cold, Lee-yum,” the raspy and tired voice whispered into his ear and Liam felt the boy move so he was chest to chest on top of Liam.

Liam’s arms automatically went to wrap around his boyfriend’s form and hold him close. His eyes fluttered open and he peered into the most gorgeous blue eyes he’s ever seen. “Better?” Liam asked.

Louis blinked and smiled before nodding. “Much,” he confirmed and pecked Liam’s lips before resting his head beneath Liam’s chin. “Sorry if I woke you,” he whispered.

Liam glanced around their dark bedroom, the only light coming from the moon shining in through the window. “Don’t be,” Liam replied. “I wasn’t asleep yet,” he added and turned his head to nuzzle his face in Louis’s hair. 

Louis hummed an acknowledging response into Liam’s bare chest but then fell still and quiet. Liam relaxed and his eyes fell closed. He was almost asleep again before he felt Louis shift again. Liam opened his eyes and watched Louis lift his head so he was staring down at him.

“Something on your mind?” Liam asked, and he knew there was something on Louis’s mind. The other boy had been acting strange all day. They had gone to pick out flowers for the wedding and Louis could barely focus, which had made Liam ask if Louis was okay many times but the boy kept brushing it off and saying he was fine.

This time though, Liam knew he was going to get an answer from the boy. Louis wasn’t able to keep secrets from Liam, and vice versa. It just wasn’t their style. They shared everything together, always had. 

Louis gnawed on his lips slightly, adjusting himself so he was lying beside Liam instead of on top of him, but their half naked bodies were still pressed close together. “The wedding is in two months,” Louis said softly, his fingers reaching out to lace with Liam’s.

Liam nodded and smiled. “Yes, it is,” he replied. 

Louis returned the smile and nuzzled himself closer. “I’m so excited, Li. You have no idea,” he said, reminding Liam of the night Liam had proposed. After Louis had said yes and they had amazing sex, Liam brought up the actual wedding part and Louis had almost squealed with excitement, making that same statement.

“Well I’m glad,” Liam said but couldn’t help but ask, “But today you didn’t seem too interested in picking out the flowers.”

Louis gulped slightly but he kept his smile. “What you decided on was perfect, trust me. I, uh, guess I’ve just been a little side tracked in my mind today, that’s all.”

“Sharing is caring,” Liam smirked, suggesting that he didn’t enjoy not knowing what was on Louis’s mind.

Louis nodded and eagerly said, “Yes, yeah, I know, I just need to find a way to share this with you without freaking out. You freaking out or me.”

Liam squeezed Louis’s hand and his other arm hugged him tighter. He had his suspicions. “Does this have anything to do with what my mother talked to you about last night after dinner?”

Louis’s eyes widened slightly. “You heard?”

“Not everything but I heard you both talking about the difficulty of gay couples having children and I know we haven’t discussed it much but—“

“I don’t want to adopt,” Louis blurted out and Liam was only a little bit surprised. Louis quickly continued, “I mean, well,” he blushed and looked away. 

Liam felt a chill run through him. “Does this mean you don’t want children?” he asked, baffled. Liam suddenly felt cold because he thought Louis wanted the same thing as Liam: a family.

“Oh, damn it Liam! Yes I want children! I want a family with you, of course I do!” Louis said quickly. “I just don’t want someone else’s kid,” he said and then sighed heavily. “That sounds so selfish Li, what is wrong with me?” he nearly sobbed and his head fell to rest against Liam’s chest. “I want your children Liam,” Louis confirmed. 

“Oh,” Liam whispered softly, though he had to admit he was a little confused.

Louis lifted his head and Liam internally winced at the tears on his eyes. “Do you understand what I mean?”

Liam frowned but squeezed Louis’s hand to reassure him that he wasn’t backing down. He was just lost. “Not exactly.”

Louis took a deep breath and said, “I want to use a surrogate. A woman that will carry our baby for us, but it’ll be your actual child. Or mine, eventually but I want the first to be yours.”

Liam felt a weight lift from his shoulders and he let out a small sigh. “We can do that,” he confirmed. Not that Liam spent a whole lot of time thinking about how he would have a family, but he knew their only options were adopting or surrogating. He always assumed Louis and him would have a family, but the two love birds never actually discussed on how.

Relief flooded Louis’s expression and he released Liam’s hand so he could wrap the younger boy in a big hug. “Thank you,” he cried softly, but Liam was glad that these tears were from relief and happiness and not rejection.

Liam hugged Louis back just as tightly. “What made you think I wouldn’t be okay with that?” he asked.

Louis lifted his head and explained, “You always talk about how selfless I am. Not that I agree, but you claim that it’s one of the things you love most about me.”

“It’s true Lou, you’re one of the most caring people I know,” Liam confirmed.

“Yeah, well, it’s common for gay couples to adopt. They do it not just because of obvious reasons, but they’re also changning lives of children that don’t have their own families. And here I am claiming that I don’t want to help them. I’m being selfish because I want my own kids.”

Liam quickly shook his head and before Louis could continue, Liam flipped them over so he was hovering over Louis. “Louis Tomlinson,” he stated fiercely, “You are not selfish for wanting children of our own. People have their own children everyday and no one calls them selfish.”

“Yeah, but,” Louis started but Liam cut him off with a kiss.

Louis melted into Liam’s kiss and Liam felt satisfied that after so many years, he could still make Louis melt. When they broke apart, Liam continued, “You wanting the first child to be mine is the most beautiful thing in the world. Do you know how much that means to me?”

Louis smiled softly, tears still prominent in his eyes, this time just from the emotional atmosphere.

“But, after the first, we’re using your sperm for the next one,” Liam stated and Louis let out a small laugh.

“You ruined the moment by using the word “sperm”, Li,” Louis giggled, wrapping his arms around Liam’s neck. 

Liam rolled his eyes and kissed Louis’s neck. “M’sorry. I’m good at that, aren’t I?”

“It’s okay. I still love you,” Louis whispered, his eyes fluttering from the pleasure Liam was focusing on his neck. “B-but that’s not all I wanted to talk to you about.”

Liam left one more kiss on Louis’s neck before lifting his head. “Yes?”

“Well, because we are, ya know, gay and stuff, Karen told me that it’s still going to be difficult to find a surrogate that will be okay with carrying our child.”

Liam nodded slightly. “Yeah, it will be difficult but not impossible.”

“I know,” Louis added. “And I know we have the rest of our lives and everything, and heck, we aren’t even married yet, but I was wondering if you were okay if we started looking?”

Liam’s eyebrows rose slightly. “For a surrogate?”

Louis nodded, looking nervous. “I really want children Li, and I know you do too. I don’t want to wait this out thinking we will be able to find a surrogate at the exact moment we’re ready. If we start looking now we can have a larger pool of women to choose from so or we can get to know them more so we know they’re right, and when we are ready we will have someone and we can trust them.”

Liam smiled, “That’s brilliant Louis,” he said, hugging Louis tightly.

“I’m so glad you agree,” Louis breathed against Liam’s neck. “I love you so much,” he nearly cried.

“I love you too,” Liam replied, choking up himself. 

“So we’re doing this? We’re going to have a family?” Louis whispered against Liam’s skin.

Liam kissed Louis’s neck lovingly. “Yes, Louis, we’re going to have a family together.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?


	5. That Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So guess what I did! Next chapter is up! Also to Breath, who commented on the last chapter... well, yeah. Just read the chapter :)

The next morning, Harry was asleep beside Liam’s hospital bed, his body awkwardly laid out between two hard plastic chairs. When he had curled up on the chairs last night, he knew he’s regretted the uncomfortable position in the morning, but Harry couldn’t force himself from Liam’s side, even for a cup of coffee.

So when Harry woke up, he stood tall and stretched out his sore muscles, his eyes blinking tiredly at the hushed body in front of him. Quietly, Harry pulled one of the chairs closer to Liam’s bed and said down, taking Liam’s hand into his. He proceeded to kiss each of his knuckles and then each of his fingertips. 

“I remember when your mom told me about that trick. How kissing your knuckles and fingertips always made you feel better when you were young. She went on a long story about how you’d always cry when she dropped you off at school and she’d kiss your knuckles and tell you that when she picked you up, your finger tips were next.” Harry paused to sniffle a little, squeezing Liam’s have lightly.

“You don’t get home sick often, but I was so happy when your mom told me what to do to make you feel better. It was like I captured a little more of your heart that day. You didn’t cry because you don’t cry, but I just knew you were upset about missing not being about to visit your mum when she had her surgery. But all I did was kiss you here,” Harry pressed another kiss to his knuckle, “and here,” he kissed the next, “and here,” he proceeded down the line. “And you smiled at me with tears in your eyes and I then knew how much I loved you. And I knew you could tell how much I loved you and I was so happy that day. You trusted me with an act so personal and you and you thanked me, telling me that you didn’t mind missing home so much if I was always with you.” Harry let out a shaky breath and closed his eyes, not wanting to cry.

“You’re going to be fine, Li, I know that. It’s just so hard when you’re not smiling at me, your eyes crinkling the way that they do when I try to tell you a story. You laugh at me in the best way, Li. That sounds dumb, I know, but I’d do anything just to make you laugh.”

Harry went to kiss Liam’s hand again, but stopped when Liam’s hand tightened around his again. Harry sat up straighter and looked up to Liam’s face where he could tell Liam was trying to open his eyes again. 

“Liam? Open your eyes for me, come on,” Harry urged and broke out in a big smile when Liam’s honey warm eyes fluttered open. “There you go,” he said happily, standing so Liam could see him better. “Hey, Liam,” he smiled.

Liam’s face remained tranquil as he blinked tiredly up at Harry. He parted his lips but only weakly coughed before he grimaced in pain.

“Careful, babe, you’re probably still in a lot of pain. I can go get the nurse,” Harry said and went to move away but Liam’s hand tightened around Harry’s not letting him go. Harry turned back to Liam, frowning. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

Liam grimaced again before whispering, “Where…?” he closed his eyes for a moment before opening them and trying again. “Where am I? What happened?”

Harry frowned for a moment but tried not to look to devastated. The doctor already told him that Liam might not remember what happened. He had a pump on his head from the building collapsing but they assured him it wasn’t anything too serious. “You’re in the hospital, babe. There was an explosion at work. But you’re fine, just a little burned up, but you’re going to be just fine,” he assured, squeezing Liam’s hand, which had suddenly gone limp in his hand. 

Liam grimaced before asking, “Babe?” but before Harry could respond, Liam looked around and asked, “Zayn? Is he here? Is he okay?”

“Yeah, Zayn’s fine. He should be here soon, actually. But I really have to go get a nurse,” Harry said, hating the way Liam was still grimacing in pain. 

Liam looked confused as he stared at Harry. “Wait, are you not a nurse?” he asked, genuinely confused.

Harry tilted his head slightly before shaking his head, “No, Li, of course I’m not a nurse. I’m your—“

“Louis!” Liam suddenly gasped. “Where is he? He’s okay, right? Does he know I’m okay?”

Harry paled and flinched slightly when Liam pulled his hand from his. “Um, yes, he was here yesterday, um.” Harry felt the room grow warmer as he watched Liam’s eyes scan the room nervously, landing anywhere but at Harry. 

“Can you..?” Liam gulped. “Can you get him, please? And Zayn? I need them,” Liam looked absolutely terrified and Harry’s heart hurt. 

“Yes, uh, yeah,” Harry mumbled, stepping away from Liam and pivoting towards the door. Before he could make a notion to move towards it, Zayn stepped through the doors and smiled brightly at seeing Liam awake.

“Hia mate!” Zayn said cheerfully, obviously not comprehending the confused and terrified expressions on both Liam and Harry’s faces. “How ya feeling?”

Harry turned back to Liam, who seemed to have relaxed from seeing Zayn. “I’m confused and scared, Z,” Liam admitted.

“Doc said you may not remember the accident,” Zayn shrugged. “But you’ll be up and fighting fires again in no time,” he assured.

“Okay,” Liam frowned slightly, blinking a couple of times before. “Can you call Louis for me?”

Zayn’s smile fell slightly and he glanced up at Harry, now registering Harry’s horrified expression. He cleared his throat and asked Liam, “Why would you want me to call Louis?” he tried to keep his obvious distaste for Louis out of the statement but apparently Liam who looked betrayed caught it.

“Well because he should be here, right? I want to tell him that I’m okay,” Liam explained.

Zayn’s eyes flickered nervously around the room before pointing towards Harry. “Liam, do you know who this is?”

Liam’s eyes slowly moved towards Harry and he frowned. “I, uh, thought he was a nurse but…” he gulped. “I don’t know. Should I?” he asked, his eyes flickering back to Zayn.

Zayn bit down on his lip before forcing a smile and saying, “Ya know what? I’m gonna go get your doctor, okay?” he said and grabbed Harry’s hand, tugging him towards the door. 

“And you’ll call Louis for me, right?” Liam asked and Zayn mumbled a some-what positive response back before the door shut behind them. 

As soon as Harry was out in the hall, he grabbed Zayn’s shoulder tightly as the world titled slightly, “Zayn, I don’t feel good,” he groaned and Zayn’s arms went around him quickly.

“Harry, relax and take a seat. I’m going to go find the doctor,” Zayn instructed, pushing on Harry’s shoulder’s to make him sit. 

“He doesn’t know who I am, Zayn,” Harry gasped, his breathing pattern picking up dangerously. 

“He does, deep down, he’s just confused right now, okay? Take deep breaths, calm down. I’ll be right back,” Zayn assured before taking off down the hallway towards the nurse’s station. 

Harry sat on his hands and closed his eyes, focusing on his breathing. But it was hard to count his breaths when all he could think about was his boyfriend having no idea who he was; and on top of it, asking for Louis, his crazy ex boyfriend.

Harry groaned. Louis wasn’t crazy. He just cared about Liam, which was no different than anyone who’s met Liam. Harry admittedly couldn’t imagine ever not caring about Liam, even if he broke his heart. Which, Harry felt like Liam was unintentionally breaking his heart right now by not remember whom he was. 

Harry whimpered and tears pooled in his eyes as he struggled to remain calm. He only opened his eyes again when he heard Liam’s door being opened and he saw the doctor entering the room say, “Glad to you’re awake, Mr. Payne.” The door shut then and Zayn came back over to him.

“The doctor is evaluating him now and soon we’ll know what’s wrong,” Zayn assured.

“He doesn’t remember me, Zayn. That’s what’s wrong,” Harry whimpered.

Zayn didn’t respond, just put his arm around his friend and hugged him tightly.

Not too long later, the doctor came out of Liam’s room and approached them. “Liam seems to be missing about two years of his life,” he explained. “I found no brain damage in the scans or my evaluation, so what ever is causing his memories to be repressed is most likely caused by a psychological issue.”

“What does that mean?” Harry asked, his limbs shaking nervously. Was the doctor saying Liam was crazy now?

“The accident must have been so traumatizing to Liam that his mind repressed that event, but with doing so he repressed his memories too far. I am confident that with time and some psychological counseling, his memories will resurface.”

Harry dropped his head and counted his breaths.

“What do we do until then?” Zayn asked.

“We will continue on with the skin graft this evening, and he will most likely be allowed for release two days after that. Then we will enroll him into counseling.”

“Okay, but what do I do until then?” Harry asked, his tone a little snappish as he raised his head to glare at the doctor. “I’m his boyfriend and yet he has no idea who I am. What do I do?”

“Yes, Liam did ask me about you, saying you were the ‘nice man who was with him when he woke’,” the doctor nodded. “I told him that you are his friend, but it’s up to you if you wish to tell him the truth. I’d advise waiting until after his procedure tonight before explaining his change of relationships.”

“Why?” Harry whimpered.

“Surgery is a stressful situation and he’s already very stressed. After he has recovered from the skin graft procedure I highly recommend informing him of his change of relationship and getting him back into the way his life was before the accident. Until then I recommend avoiding all topics about his partner.”

Harry bit his lip, not wanting to cry in front of the doctor. Zayn thanked the man before he walked away and he grabbed Harry’s hand, pulling him up. “Are you okay?”

“I’m not going to go in there and tell him I’m his friend, Zayn,” Harry spat. 

Zayn sighed. “I know. But do you really want him freaking out even more? He can’t remember two years of his life.”

“Half of that was the beginning of our lives together,” Harry snapped pathetically. 

“Harry, please,” Zayn begged. “I know Liam. I know how stressed out he can get but I also know that he’s reasonable. After the procedure we will tell him everything he’s missed and he’ll be right on track with trying to remember everything about you, okay? He loves you, okay? Even if he doesn’t know that he does, he will trust us enough to let us help him remember that love.”

Harry was slightly appeased by Zayn’s rant because Harry also knew how stressed out Liam could get sometimes. He didn’t want to risk Liam’s health by confusing him more and making things even more complicated. “What about Louis?” Harry asked softly.

“What about him?” Zayn gritted his teeth.

Harry sighed, “Liam thinks he’s still with Louis. We gonna lie to him about that, too? Invite him over and let Louis try and sweep Liam off his feet again?”

Zayn shook his head immediately. “No. We tell him that Louis is out of town and is unable to come back. If he asks about him too much, we change the subject, okay?”

“What should I tell Louis?” Harry asked.

“That’s where you lie. You told him you’d ask Liam once he woke up how he felt about Louis visiting, right?” 

Harry nodded.

“Then we tell him that Liam doesn’t want to see him,” Zayn explained as if it were so simple.

“I don’t like lying. Lying to Liam is one thing because it’s for his health, but—“

“Lying to Louis is also for Liam’s health, remember? Louis being here will only confuse and hurt Liam more when we tell him the truth,” Zayn explained.

Harry took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Zayn smirked slightly. 

Harry nodded and allowed Zayn to pull him into the room.

Liam was now propped up in bed, the bandages still washing out his complexion. He smiled, a little goofy, and Harry wondered if they gave him more pain medicine.

“Hey Zayn,” Liam said and his eyes fell onto Harry as the two walked into the room, each taking a seat beside the bed. “Uhm, I’m sorry. I was told I know you but…” he frowned nervously.

Harry nodded in understanding and said, “I’m Harry.”

Liam smiled slightly. “How do we know each other?” he asked.

Harry gulped and said, “We met at the library where I work,” he explained with a soft smile.

Liam raised an eyebrow. “Library? Why was I there?” he asked.

‘Right,’ Harry thought. ‘Two years meant he hadn’t decided to go to Uni yet.’ He glanced over at Zayn.

“You were doing some research for me. About the firehouse. The official documents and stuff,” Zayn lied effortlessly.

“Oh,” Liam said and his eyes moved from Zayn back to Harry. “Guess you helped me a lot. I wouldn’t know what to even do in a library,” he smirked.

Harry chuckled at this softly because even though Liam spends most of his time at the library studying for his courses, he still barely knew what he was doing. “You were a little confused, I’ll admit,” he smiled. 

Liam smiled fondly before asking, “So I’m guessing we hit it off then? Just from one visit to the library?”

Harry took a quick breath because, no, it was more like 5 trips to the library and shameless flirting from both sides before Liam had enough courage to give Harry his phone number. “Yeah, hit it off right away,” he lied. “Introduced me to Zayn here and throw in my best mate Niall and we’ve been together ever since.”

Liam smiled at this and raised his eyebrows. “And Louis? I’m sure he’s quite fond of you too,” he said innocently. 

Harry’s gaze fell into his lap and he shrugged slightly, “Yeah, right, of course,” he lied, feeling like an idiot for forgetting about him.

Everyone was quiet for a few moments before Liam coughed slightly before asking, “Did you call Louis, Zayn? He’s on his way, right?”

Harry quickly looked over at Zayn who was luckily a lot better liar than Harry was. “Yeah I called him but, listen Li, he’s been out of town and he’s unable to make it back.”

Liam frowned and his eyes flickered to Harry for a moment. “But he-uh-Harry said that he was here yesterday,” he asked, his brow furrowing in confusion. 

“Right, um, he left this morning for a trip to see his family,” Zayn recovered, reaching out and patting Liam’s hand gently. “He’ll call when he can, I’m sure in a few days,” he assured.

At first Harry thought Liam was going to question Zayn but then his eyelids grew heavier. “I’m sleepy,” Liam said.

“It’s the pain killers. Just go to sleep and we’ll be here when you wake up,” Zayn promised.

“Can you try and ring Louis for me, please?” Liam asked quietly and just before he fell asleep he whispered, “I really need to hear his voice.”


End file.
